Abstract
Objective
Asthma is a common disease featuring immune system dysfunction. While substantial evidence supports the notion that the atopic tendencies pass throughout generations, the link to other immune disorders is limited. We therefore aimed to assess whether maternal asthma increases the risk for long-term infectious morbidity in the offspring.
Study Design
In this retrospective population-based cohort study, we compared long-term infectious morbidity in offspring following pregnancies exposed and unexposed to maternal asthma. Deliveries occurred in a single regional tertiary medical center between the years 1991-2014. Congenital malformations and multiple pregnancies were excluded from the study. A survival curve and a Cox regression model were used to assess the association and control for confounders.
Results
During the study period 242,187 deliveries met the inclusion criteria; 1.3% of which were in parturients diagnosed with asthma (n=3264). The incidence of infectious related hospitalizations of the offspring was higher among children born to women with asthma, as compared to women without asthma (OR=1.5, 95% CI 1.4-1.7; p<0.001, Table). Specifically, the incidence of urinary tract infection, gastroenteritis, acute otitis, and upper respiratory tract infection, was significantly higher among the exposed group. The survival curve indicated that children exposed in-utero to asthma had a higher cumulative incidence of long-term infectious-related hospitalizations (Figure, Log rank<0.001). In the Cox proportional hazards model, adjusted for maternal age, gestational age, maternal diabetes and hypertension, maternal asthma remained independently associated with an increased risk for infectious-related hospitalizations in the offspring (HR -1.4, 95% CI 1.32-1.59, p<0.001).
Conclusion
Maternal asthma during pregnancy appears to be a significant risk factor for long-term pediatric infectious morbidity in the offspring.
Asthma is a common disease featuring immune system dysfunction. While substantial evidence supports the notion that the atopic tendencies pass throughout generations, the link to other immune disorders is limited. We therefore aimed to assess whether maternal asthma increases the risk for long-term infectious morbidity in the offspring.
Study Design
In this retrospective population-based cohort study, we compared long-term infectious morbidity in offspring following pregnancies exposed and unexposed to maternal asthma. Deliveries occurred in a single regional tertiary medical center between the years 1991-2014. Congenital malformations and multiple pregnancies were excluded from the study. A survival curve and a Cox regression model were used to assess the association and control for confounders.
Results
During the study period 242,187 deliveries met the inclusion criteria; 1.3% of which were in parturients diagnosed with asthma (n=3264). The incidence of infectious related hospitalizations of the offspring was higher among children born to women with asthma, as compared to women without asthma (OR=1.5, 95% CI 1.4-1.7; p<0.001, Table). Specifically, the incidence of urinary tract infection, gastroenteritis, acute otitis, and upper respiratory tract infection, was significantly higher among the exposed group. The survival curve indicated that children exposed in-utero to asthma had a higher cumulative incidence of long-term infectious-related hospitalizations (Figure, Log rank<0.001). In the Cox proportional hazards model, adjusted for maternal age, gestational age, maternal diabetes and hypertension, maternal asthma remained independently associated with an increased risk for infectious-related hospitalizations in the offspring (HR -1.4, 95% CI 1.32-1.59, p<0.001).
Conclusion
Maternal asthma during pregnancy appears to be a significant risk factor for long-term pediatric infectious morbidity in the offspring.
| Original language | English GB |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | S490-S491 |
| Journal | American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology |
| Volume | 218 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 2018 |
